Democracy is facing a severe test. Can it deal with Europe's current crises? And if it should fail - what then? Parallels between today's Europe and the years leading up to 1939 could be cause for concern! The economies of European nations are in deep trouble. The problem: rampant inflation. Germany's leading news magazine. Der Spiegel, warned recently of the possibly grave implications that could arise from the collapse of the country's largest private financial institution, the Herstatt Bank, followed by the downfall of four smaller banks. Spiegel editors reminded their readers that the situation was the worst since the unforgettable collapse of the "Danatbank" 43 years ago - the "start of the great crisis in Germany, the beginning of the way into unemployment and to Hitler." Continued Der Spiegel: "…both laymen and experts regard the Herstatt crash as a new start of a collapse of the country's monetary and credit economy - similar to the great bank crash of 1931."

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